Alcohol consumption and mortality among middle-aged and elderly U.S. adults.

Background: Alcohol consumption has both adverse and beneficial effects on survival. We examined the balance of these in a large prospective study of mortality among U.S.

Opioid antinociception in a rat model of visceral pain: systemic versus local drug administration.

Antinociceptive effects of systemically or locally administered opioid mu, kappa and delta agonists were evaluated in a rat model of visceral pain. Resiniferatoxin (RTX, 3 nmol), a capsaicin-like mutant, produced abdominally directed grooming behavior after direct administration into the urinary bladder (intravesical, Lves.) by indwelling cannula.

Treatment of refractory undifferentiated acute myelogenous leukemia with all-trans-retinoic acid.

A patient is described with undifferentiated acute myeloblastic leukemia refractory to two courses of daunorubicin and cytosine arabinoside. Because some the myeloblasts developed morphologic features of promyelocytes, the patient was treated with all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) in an attempt to promote maturation. Cytogenetic studies and sensitive molecular analysis did not reveal any abnormality classically associated with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

The effects of platelet-derived growth factor in cultured microvessel endothelial cells.

The effects of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) on thymidine incorporation into DNA and glucose and neutral amino acid uptake were studied in endothelial cells cultured from macrovessels (bovine aorta and pulmonary artery) and microvessels (bovine fat and mouse brain). Similar to previous studies, PDGF did not bind to macrovessel cells, nor did it influence their metabolic function. In contrast, PDGF bound specifically to the two types of microvessel cell culture and in these cells also stimulated the uptake of glucose and neutral amino acids as well as the incorporation of thymidine into DNA.

The Type A behaviour pattern and self-evaluation.

This paper is concerned with how Type A and B subjects perceive themselves. Subjects first completed a unidimensional A type measure, then rated themselves and their ideal selves on various personality traits. As expected, Type A was associated with negative self-ratings and high actual-ideal self-discrepancy scores.

Insulin, insulin-like growth factors, and vascular endothelium.

Endothelial cells form the intimal lining of the entire vascular system. The vascular endothelium is continuously and directly bathed by components of the bloodstream and represents the initial fixed anatomical surface with which these components come in contact. In the past decade, the methodologies for studying endothelial cell functions have markedly advanced, enabling direct and detailed study of the vascular endothelium.

The attribution of cure.

Subjects rated the importance of 24 different contributors towards overcoming four relatively common problems: alcoholism, depression, sexual problems and shyness. Factor analysis revealed seven almost identical clusters for each problem, which were labelled inner control, receiving help, understanding, social consequences, physical basis, avoidance and fate. Items loading on the first three factors were thought to be generally important, and those on the last three relatively unimportant.

Iron and ferritin contents and distribution in human alveolar macrophages.

Previous investigations have shown that alveolar macrophages from cigarette smokers contain more iron than do macrophages obtained from nonsmokers. To localize intracellular iron and to help assess its potential for participation in the production of hydroxyl radicals, macrophages were fractionated and the ferritin and iron contents were measured in various cell fractions. Alveolar macrophages from seven smokers and six nonsmokers were lysed by nitrogen cavitation and centrifuged, first at 500 g and then at 11,000 g.

Errors in computation of WISC and WISC-R intelligence quotients from raw scores.

Twenty-four per cent of 457 sequential IQ assessments contained errors in the calculation of verbal, performance or full scale IQ's from the raw scores; in 2% the errors were large enough to cause a difference in full scale IQ of more than 5 points.

Prophylactic antiarrhythmic therapy of high-risk survivors of myocardial infarction: lower mortality at 1 month but not at 1 year.

To determine whether prophylactic antiarrhythmic therapy influences mortality in high-risk patients after acute myocardial infarction, 143 such patients were randomized in a double-blind individually dose-adjusted, placebo-controlled trial an average of 14 +/- 7 days after myocardial infarction and followed for 1 year. Patients were judged to be at high risk on the basis of (1) ejection fraction less than 40% (n = 60), (2) arrhythmias of Lown class 3 or higher (n = 26), or (3) both (n = 57). Aprindine was chosen because of its long half-life, few side effects, and antiarrhythmic efficacy.

Type A behaviour pattern, the recall of positive personality information and self-evaluations.

This paper reports on two studies of how Type A and B subjects perceive themselves. Both studies investigated differences in self-ratings of personality by Type As and Bs, and differences in the recall of positive and negative personality information. As predicted, a modest significant positive correlation was found in both studies between Type A scores and number of positive traits remembered, suggesting that Type A behaviours are associated with a tendency to process information about the self in such a way as to bolster self-esteem.

A new projective test: the Caine-Marteau-Dympna Test (CMD).

The Caine-Marteau-Dympna (CMD) Test, a new thematic apperception projective test, has acceptable inter-rater reliability. Validity was demonstrated by its ability to differentiate psychiatric in-patients from out-patients and non-patients, and by the relationships found between ratings derived from the test protocols and various questionnaires. These latter provide measures associated with either an inner or outer orientation towards the world.

Who goes home? Predictive factors in stroke recovery.

One hundred and seventy two stroke patients were assessed two weeks post-stroke by a multi-disciplinary team. The predictive ability of a number of variables, including social, psychological and physical factors, was estimated for four outcome groups. Highly significant factors for good and bad outcome for one year were identified.

Productive murine leukemia virus (MuLV) infection of EL4 T-lymphoblastoid cells: selective elevation of H-2 surface expression and possible association of Thy-1 antigen with viruses.

This study evaluated differences in the expression of three surface antigens (H-2Kb, H-2Db, and Thy 1.2) of two EL4 T-lymphoblastoid cell lines. The two cell lines, EL4 (G-) which is not virus infected and the MuLV-producing subline EL4G +, had the same cytographic size distribution and a doubling time of twenty-four hours.

Stereochemical aspects of the interaction between steroidal diamines and DNA.

A complete series of stereoisomeric quaternised diaminoandrostanes, differing in their stereochemistry at the 3,5 and 17 positions, has been examined for effects on the thermal denaturation of calf thymus DNA and for the ability to remove and reverse the supercoiling of closed circular duplex PM2 DNA. In both types of test the eight isomers rank in the same order of effectiveness. The preferred stereochemistry for the quaternary substituents at positions 3 and 17 is beta; of these the orientation of the 17- substituent is more critical.